12 to Watch - James Doss

Sunday

Jan 5, 2014 at 8:00 AM

These stories aren't just about what they have done – they are about what they hope to accomplish.

By Paul StephenPaul.Stephen@StarNewsOnline.com

The StarNews set out to find 10 noteworthy people who might be high achievers in 2014.We settled on 12.The honorees are all risk-takers. At the start of a new year, these stories are about what they have done – and what they hope to accomplish.

Biographical information is available at the end of this article.James Doss isn't afraid of losing his shirt. Nearly anyone who willingly steps into a restaurant ownership role has long since beaten bankruptcy anxieties from his psyche like so many egg whites. What keeps him up at night is the fear he won't be able to stick to his ambitious farm-to-table ethos while building a restaurant with broad enough appeal to draw diners both local and from afar. James' dictum of seasonal and sustainable food is a driving force behind Pembroke's, the new restaurant he opened in November with business partner Josh Novicki. The eatery at The Forum provides a platform for spreading that gospel far beyond what he's able to do in the roughly 60-seat Rx the two opened downtown in 2012. But scale comes with a cost, and he's doing everything in his power to avoid compromising to keep the lights on. "We could set it up to do 600 covers a night, but can we hold up our standards at that many?" James asked. "We're going to have to find that magic number that's going to be profitable without sacrificing our ideals."James developed those ideals while cooking under the now world-renowned Sean Brock in Charleston. James is a blurry figure in the cover photo of Bon Appetit magazine's September 2011 issue that named Brock's Husk the best new restaurant in America, and it was James' hands that prepared the chicken dish depicted.James has tirelessly worked to cultivate a network of roughly 15 farmers and watermen he works with to keep the pantry stocked, and all were warned ahead of time that demand was going to grow exponentially with the new venture. He just hopes he can convince Wilmington's dining public to embrace the same philosophy that inspires him in the kitchen. "Understand that dining isn't just a way to sustain yourself," he said. "It should be an experience all the way from start to finish. And that means starting from seed four months ago."That's what your cost is, what you're paying for. You're supporting somewhere around 70 employees here and another 70 behind them in the fields."

Age: 36Family: SingleJob: Executive Chef/ Owner, Rx and Pembroke's restaurants (421 Castle St. and 1125 Military Cutoff Road)Hometown: Goldsboro, NCLatest book read: "Salumi: The Craft of Italian Dry Curing" by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn On Saturday, you'll find him: At the stoves, but Doss likes to catch both waves and fish at the beach when he does get a rare day off. If he's feeling particularly ambitious, 18 holes of golf straightens his mind out.Favorite way to unwind: Listening to live music.What motivates you: "Challenging cooks, challenging staff, getting them to think, to take what we do, analyze it and make it better. Challenging diners, too. Make them have fun but also understand why we take the extra steps to call 15 different farmers on our days off to line up produce."Typical day: Up at 9 a.m. with a breakfast of coffee, a biscuit if he's lucky. In the restaurant by 10 a.m. to prepare daily lists for both the front and back of the house. After meetings, checking in wine orders and wrangling payroll, Doss begins tearing apart the menu from last night, scribbling out that evening's offerings. Another meeting at 4:30 to go over the menu changes with the staff leads into dinner service at 5 p.m. By 10-10:30, the last diner is served and the shutdown begins. Place to relax in Wilmington: "My back porch and garden, that gets me away. If I really want to relax, I cut my phone off, turn some music on and sit in a rocking chair." Hobbies: "Right now, my only hobby is this. But I go to as many Widespread Panic shows as I can."What famous person, living or dead, would you like to spend a day with, and how would you spend it? Doss said chef René Redzepi, a pioneer of the new-Nordic style, would be at the top of his list. But he wouldn't turn down a chance to hang out with Sean Brock, the Charleston-area chef who's reached worldwide acclaim, that Doss previously worked for.